So I took a little break from blogging for my birthday but I definitely needed it. I’m feeling so much better & am excited to jump back into it. We had a week of night shift for my husband’s job which always throws us for a loop then he took up until Monday off for birthday fun! & boy was it fun!

I freely admit I am spoiled. We don’t have kids so Ryan tends to spoil me for my birthday, especially since we’re so far from family. Military life! Anyway! So we went & watched two movies & ate sushi. & went shopping pretty much all weekend. Woohoo! I picked up some awesome stuff & that combined with the products that have landed on my doorstep I’m pretty avalanched with items right now. So I want your help! As you read this, keep in mind things you want to see sooner rather than later & let me know in the comments pretty please? I’d appreciate it!

So I went with an easy purple eyeshadow look using my Urban Decay Vice Palette. I love this look so much & I felt so confident & fantastic in it! From inner corner to outter corner I have Urban Decay Provocateur (applied wet), Rapture on the lid, & Vice to darken up the edges. Loved it!

So the day of I got some beautiful roses, an absolutely sweet card, Heath Ice Cream Cake, & Cake Batter Ice Cream. He’s a good man. & I posted pictures on my Instagram! I love Instagram so I hope you’re following me. if not, then check it out here! Now onto the presents!

So first off is the randoms. The Marc Jacobs Sunshine Eau So Fresh is from Ryan for my birthday & I adore Marc Jacobs fragrances. This screams pretty spring to me & I love it! The other fragrance is from Carol’s Daughter & it is called Ecstasy. I got a sample of this scent in a lotion & fell in love so now I finally have a rollerball! I’m hoping to review this later on. The lipstick is a Rimmel Kate Moss in the shade 17 which I somehow didn’t own. I picked up the Sephora birthday gift freebie which is from Benefit this year & contains a mini They’re Real Mascara & Watt’s Up!  which is super cute. Love a freebie. The palette was on clearance & is one the the all-in-one Sephora brand mini palettes that I love to stash in my purse or travel with. It was Limited Edition.

Let’s talk Lancome! I’ve been NEEDING these two items (seriously it was unhealthy) & I’ve been pretty much putting my face against the glass for them both. I went in thinking I was getting the Lancome Color Design single eyeshadow in All That Glitters. I’ve swatched it in pretty much every store. It may not look special in the pan but it is glorious enough for me to go wild. From the texture to the complexity I fell in love! The beggest suprise was walking out with the 5 Color Lancome Color Design Palette in Mint Jolie. It has a bit of a hefty price tag but I’ve been dying over the combination of these shades. That mint, the jade liner, the whole combination is heavenly. I’m just dying.

So I got a whole lot of nail polish recently. I know. I get I really didn’t need more…but there are some in here I’ve been dying for or that I managed to find at a discount!

So this is Nails Inc Feathers Nail Polish in Brighton. I’ve been wanting this so hard but just never managed to pull the trigger. Ryan grabbed it up & bought it so I’m really excited! How adorable is the packaging on this???

This was a rarity I went nuts about but couldn’t manage to get my hand on Pantone Jewel Lacquer in Parachute Purple. This is a close-ish dupe of the oh so popular polish Scrangie & I can’t believe I found it in Sephora. Real life freak out, I’m surprised they let me buy it & didn’t sick security on me.

The next polishes we got at Sallys, TJ Maxx, Walmart, our military BX, Walgreens, or CVS. I’ll just throw down names & you guys can let me know what you want to see most! Deal?

Left tor right: Nicole by OPI in Here Kim’s the Sun, Nicole by OPI in Strike a Pose, Sephora by OPI in Good Tidings We Bling!, Sephora by OPI in I’m So Sari!, Sephora by OPI in If You’ve Got It, Haunt It, & Sephora by OPI in Club Scene Queen.

Left tor right: Essie Maximillion Strasse-her, Essie Bahama Mama, Essie Yogaga, Essie Jamaica me Crazy, Essie Mojito Madness, & Essie Nothing Else Metals.

Left tor right: China Glaze Mosaic Madness, China Glaze Scattered & Tattered, China Glaze Tranzitions Altered Reality, China Glaze Tranzitions Duplicity, & China GlazeFlip Flop Fantasy.

Left tor right: L’Oreal Nail Polish in VIP Status, Sally Hansen Please Sea Me, Sally Hansen Jungle Gem, Sally Hansen Polar Bare, & Hard Candy in Black Tie Optional.

Wowie! This was a big post guys! I also picked up some new hair color to start this year right & I’m in such a happy place. We’ve rid our lives of a lot of negativity & drama so I’m just feeling great! Turning 24 was actually pretty fabulous! So do let me know what you’re interested in seeing on the blog sooner rather than later! I also have some polishes from Jesse’s Girl, more Hard Candy, Covergirl (blog first!), & some new Revlons! I’ve also picked up some random awesome polishes to sprinkle along the way!

I came home to a bit of a working mess & passed on doing my haul. When a subscriber asked to see it though, I was more than happy to oblige. I don’t feel like I got tons of stuff but I’m really happy with what I did get! From eyeshadow palettes to lippies to tools I got some seriously cool stuff!

I’m not going to go too much into each product because…there are a lot! Plus, I’m not ready to officially review them. If you want to see reviews on anything you see here (or anything on the blog really!) then just let me know in the comments!

So, obviously, I’m a bit Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar fan. I’ve swatched multiple OCC Lip Tars & was desperate for more. Unfortunately, they were out of 2 of the shades I wanted most (Black Dahlia & Bella Donna) but I still picked up 3 gorgeous shades. I actually regret not getting more. I got Anime, Harlot, & Queen.

At the LA Colors booth you could choose shades at a discount out of a bin. My mom & I each picked 5 because they were 10 for $10. I picked up 2 glitters & 3 neon type shades. I actually am super impressed with the quality. 

I picked up 3 cheap makeup brushes from from Crown Brush. One is a very small crease/blending type brush, in the middle is a super small fan brush, & then a very dense short wide brush. It it also very small. I was going for small clearly. I’m pondering a set from Sigma but never made it to their booth somehow. Mom & I each picked up their sponge as well because they were something like 2 for $8. I’ll be comparing it to my holy grail Beauty Blender.

BFTE eyeshadows were definitely  an exciting time for me because my great blogging friend Phyrra was workign their booth. I opted for these 6 shades (which I’ll be reviewing later on) & then got them home & was instantly mad at myself. Gee Stephanie…way to pick out variety! Not a warm or highlight shade in the dang bunch!

I’ve heard only the best things about Red Cherry Lashes so when I saw a deal (12 for $20) I was in. I’ll be using them in multiple upcoming looks. They had a wonderful variety but I definitely stuck with more wearable options. I’m so boring right? 

 This is my freebie of the day! We got a piece of paper offering a free item of a certain price range. I opted for a lipstick. This is from Make-up Designory & it is alright. It has kind of a plastic-y scent. I haven’t worn it yet, just a quick swatch. I was going to buy more but a lot of the people working that booth seemed grumpy so we moved along.

I also picked up the 28 Neutral colored palette which has a lot more light shades than most palettes & much less dark. I honestly wish there were more dark shades because the shimmering chocolate brown shade (upper right corner) is my hands down favorite. Nice matte options here too.

The Jenni Rivera Palette was an awesome find & I used it quite a few times during my trip. I love the blushes & eyeshadows as well. Some gorgeous shimmers there. That green? Yeah baby!

The Day & Night palette has kind of a lame name, in my opinion, but it is absolutely lovely. With some pastels, neutrals,& brights it is super easy to use.

I was pretty bummed Coastal Scents wasn’t there this year but I am a big fan of BH Cosmetics & was really interested in seeing a few particular things in person. Unfortunately, they were sold out of their blush palette. Damn. My other interest was the BH Party Girl Palette…but I actually found 2 other palettes I preferred. Funny how seeing things in person will change your mind! 

Here was my very FIRST purchase! I absolutely loved the Sauce Box items I bought last year & the Creme de la Creme palette was on my list. Just in case it sold out, I veered there first. Lovely packaging & wearable colors. You got a free mascara with purchase.

I saved the purchase I was anticipating the most for last, 2 Naked stacks. I’ll be buying more & passed on some I’ll be saving up for. I ended up getting both Twilight & Urban Rustic…they’re ridiculously impressive & gorgeous.

So there you have it! That’s what I got at IMATS 2013! Anything you want to see in a future tutorial or review? Any recommendations?

So when I looked at all of the Black Friday deals the Tarte ULTA door buster definitely caught my eye. I also picked up 2 other door busters. How you ask? I was first in line at the newest local ULTA. I had a plan. I even involved my husband…you can bet he was thrilled!

Tarte Balanced & Beautiful Set
This set was only $22! How crazy is that! Everything was full sized too! I finally got a full sized Tarte Amazonian Clay Long-Wear Blush in Flush! I LOVE this shade! Gorgeous right? This also contained a full size Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow in Slate & a full size Bamboo Cream Eyeshadow Brush. I’d never tried their waterproof creams & I’m glad I got a sample. It looks too sheer to use on its own but maybe it will make a nice base? The brush is fab! This set is worth $59.

LORAC Sweet Luxuries Eyeshadow Palette
For only $12, you get a perfect little neutral palette containing 5 LORAC shades. These are good sized too! You can see there are 2 shimmery shades & 3 that are nearly matte. There is a little bit of sparkle but it goes away once applied. These are my first LORAC shadows & I am very impressed! This palette is worth $79.

Urban Decay Travel Duo
I picked this little duo up for only $9 in anticipation of IMATS 2013. This duo contains Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray ( 0.51 oz ) & Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potion Makeup Base ( 0.46 oz ). I love the Skindinavia setting spray & because Urban Decay uses the same(ish) formula, I thought I could use this bottle when I travel instead of bringing my giant one. I haven’t tried the face primer yet but I have high hopes!

So that is everything! I think I snagged some seriously great deals! What did you get on Black Friday? Are you shopping Cyber Monday?